Auto-complete, auto-correct, incremental search, instant search, predictive search, search as you type, suggestive search, are all terms that describe a similar experience on Websites where data is returned when a user is searching for information and has only entered a few characters. According to Wikipedia, the book of knowledge, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autocomplete) the original purpose of word prediction software was to help people with physical disabilities increase their typing speed, as well as to help them decrease the number of keystrokes needed in order to complete a word or a sentence. It has become an expectation on eCommerce websites, so we determined that JustBats.com needed to offer this functionality to our users as well.
Our research shows it should improve the speed and accuracy of searches for specific products and categories on our web site. Suggestive Search has been around for quite some time and basically works by taking the user’s partially typed search term and checking it against a database of products and categories. If the user’s search term matches one of the items in our database it’s shown in a drop down list directly under the search box. The user can then select it without having to manually type the entire term.
We’ve found that most of our users who use the search feature are typically looking for a specific product or brand and this feature should greatly reduce the amount of time it takes to find exactly what you’re looking for. We estimate this will reduce the average number of keystrokes by nine or more per search. This improved search should also reduce the amount of misspelled terms and give our users more relevant, targeted results, which is a “win win” for everyone.
Save time by getting relevant search results while you type so you spend less time searching and can go right to the baseball bat or softball bat you want. Like a conversation with the JustBats.com search, search smarter and get instant feedback on whether your search terms return the type of bats you are looking for. If not, just add another word or two to see if the results are closer to what you're looking for.
To try it out for yourself, just go to the JustBats.com homepage and start typing in a search term like “2013”, “BBCOR”, or “omen”. You’ll see the most relevant results as soon as you start typing, saving you time, making you type less, and searching smarter. One of our goals at JustBats.com is to provide our customers with the best shopping experience possible, so let us know what you guys think in the comments and If you haven’t had a chance to experience the new feature yourself you should definitely try it out.
